


Broken Promises

by Northern_Lady



Series: Beyond Infinity, After Endgame, Marvel's Never Cease [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Past Child Abuse, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28368081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: In this AU Tess Black (Loki’s daughter in the comics) is a kid who moves in with the Parkers.
Relationships: Loki & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Beyond Infinity, After Endgame, Marvel's Never Cease [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2081475
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Broken Promises

**Author's Note:**

> The Beyond Infinity Series began as a collection of Post Endgame stories that could plausibly be part of the same universe but weren't written with specifically that intention. I will be adding more stories to the series that belong in this AU of mine and will continue with some plot threads.

Peter was tired. It had been a long day at school. Flash had been up to his usual bullying antics, the classes had been boring, then his afternoon as Spiderman had him running after a car thief for way too long before he could catch the bad guys. Now he sat doing homework at the kitchen table while Aunt May cooked spaghetti. 

His Aunt joined him at the table, placing a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in front of him. “You look tired Peter. Hard day?” 

“No different than usual, really,” he said. 

“Well, I have some news,” Aunt May said with a sigh. “I’m not sure how you’ll feel about this…” she began but seemed too worried to continue. 

“What is it?” Peter sat up a little straighter. He didn’t like seeing Aunt May worried. 

“You remember my sister, Sylvia Reillly?” May asked, twisting some spaghetti onto her fork. 

“I think so. She was at the funeral wasn't she?” Peter was speaking of his Uncle Ben’s funeral. Of course May’s sister had been there for support, even if the two of them never really saw each other the rest of the time. Peter wasn’t really sure why May didn’t have much contact with her sister. He had asked once and May had avoided the subject. 

“She was,” May said, pushing her pasta around with her fork as if searching for her next words. 

“Did something happen to her, Aunt May?” Peter asked, wondering if that could be the reason his Aunt was acting so strangely. 

“Not what you think. Sylvia and her husband Nate Black are going to prison. They owned an art and antique business and were convicted of stealing some important artifacts from a university collection. They got a sentence of twenty years,” she explained sadly. 

“Oh man. Wow. Sorry,” Peter said, unsure what to say. Sylvia was not really his aunt at all since May was his aunt by marriage. But he was still disturbed to see Aunt May be hurt by all this. 

May shook her head. “No, don’t be sorry Peter. I’ve known for years that my sister and Nate’s business dealings weren’t always legitimate. That’s why I haven’t had her in my life. The part of this that affects you is, Sylvia and Nate have a daughter, Tess. The court has asked if Tess can come live with us rather than go to foster care.” 

“Oh,” That was not what Peter had been expecting but he immediately knew his opinion on the matter. “She can’t go into foster care. We could clear all the stuff out of the office and put it in the living room. It would be a small bedroom but it would work.” 

Aunt May’s eyes filled with tears and she reached across the table and took his hand. “I don’t know why I was worried. You can always be trusted to make the choice that helps people, Peter. Thanks for that.” 

“Uh, yeah. No problem.” 

She took her hand away and resumed her spaghetti. “So there will be some big changes. Tess is just a kid. She is ten years old and I’ve only met her twice so we will both be strangers to her. If we agree to take her, then the social worker will bring her by tomorrow to meet us and then move in next week.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, we should meet her tomorrow.” Peter agreed. He didn’t know anything about kids, especially not ten year old girls but he did know that he had very nearly ended up in foster care himself when his parents died. It was better to be with family. Apparently Tess was gonna be part of his family too. 

The following day Peter changed his shirt three times before Tess arrived. He couldn’t decide between a t-shirt with a science pun, a rock band sweatshirt, or a nice button up dress shirt. This kid was gonna basically be his little sister. He didn’t want to make a bad impression. In the end he put on a NASA t-shirt and he rushed out of his room to join Aunt May when the doorbell rang. 

May opened the door and let in a blonde social worker who wore a prim expression on her face. She was followed by a dark haired girl of five foot stature. Tess had her long dark hair in a ponytail. She had bright blue eyes and pale fair skin. She wore jeans and a green t-shirt with the words, ‘Think like a proton, stay positive’. Peter smiled on seeing the shirt, knowing he liked her already. 

“It’s nice to meet you in person, Mrs Parker,” the social worker said. “And you too Peter. I’m Molly Jensen. This is Tess.” 

“Hi,” Tess waved and smiled a little shyly. 

Peter could hear her heart racing. This kid was scared to death. He could hardly blame her for that. She was probably more worried about making a good impression than he was. She probably felt like her future depended on it. Plus, her parents just went to prison so her life was already pretty upside down. 

“Come in,” May ushered them in to sit in the living room and offered cookies. 

They sat and chatted for a little while about May, Peter, and Tess and their hobbies and interests so that the new family would have a chance to get to know each other. Tess had an interest in both art and science, had good grades, and was a talented artist for her age. They talked about the middle school that Tess would be attending which was on the way to Peter’s school so he could walk her there. In all the meeting went well and everyone decided to go ahead with the move over the weekend. 

***

Peter enjoyed his time as a Stark intern as much as he did as Spiderman. Tony’s lab had all sorts of interesting things to work on. Ordinarily he got a lot of stuff done while he was here. Today he had underestimated his steength and broken a tool, twice. 

“You doing okay there underoos?” Tony Stark came up alongside him. 

“Sorry Mr Stark, I’m just a little distracted. I’ll be more careful.” 

“Care to spill what it is that’s distracting you?” Stark asked. 

Peter hesitated.”No, it’s really not that big of a deal. It’s fine.” He tried to downplay it just because he didn’t want to bother Mr Stark with his personal problems. But he broke the tool in his hand for the third time as he spoke. 

Stark reached over and took the tool away from him. “This tells me that maybe it is a big deal. You probably ought to just tell me before you break any more of my stuff.” 

“Well, you know how my Aunt May had her niece Tess come live with us a couple weeks ago?” Peter began. “I am worried about her.” 

“How so?” Tony crossed his arms while he listened. 

“Aunt May was working the night shift and Tess had gone to bed but I was awake. I heard the kid having a nightmare. So I went to check on her and I woke her up. She was like screaming and crying and I think I scared her because at first she tried to hit me but after she realized who I was she just hugged me instead and she wouldn’t let go. And she has scars Mr Stark, she has scars. I don’t think Aunt May knows about the scars. I only know because there was this big mistake when I was going into the bathroom and she was coming out of the shower. I didn’t see anything bad because she was wearing a towel but I did see scars on her back...like someone beat her or whipped her with a belt or something, only she won’t talk about it.” 

“Whoever gave her those scars is gone from her life now, kid.” Tony pointed out. “Plus she has you and May to look out for her. I bet she’ll be okay if you give her some time.” 

A knock sounded on the glass door, pulling them from their conversation. 

“It’s cap,” Tony said. “He said he would drop by to pick up some of those arrows we were working on for Clint. Wanna meet Captain America, kid?” 

Yes, Peter Parker, Tony’s intern would gladly meet Captain America. Spiderman would have to meet him another time. 

***

Peter walked home from school with Tess for the third week in a row. Her feet scuffed along the sidewalk as they went. She stopped to kick random pebbles as they went. 

“You okay?” He asked her. Other days she had spent the walk home chattering on and on about something from science class. Today she was definitely not okay. 

“Marilyn Baker said that I have stupid looking teeth.” She said, kicking another peble. 

“Does Marilyn pick on you a lot?” 

Tess nodded, and with a sniffle she wiped away a tear. 

“I get it. There’s this kid Flash who tries to make my life miserable. It sucks.” 

“You have bullies?” Tess glanced up at him in awe. “How can you have bullies? You’re too cool for anyone to not like you and you’re Spiderman.” 

“I’m what?” He hadn’t told her he was Spiderman. Maybe it wasn’t too late to convince her she was wrong. 

“Spiderman. Look, I know it’s supposed to be a secret but I kinda usually know what people are thinking. I know you have suit you got from Mr Stark and you got bitten by a spider and you try to take care of people in the neighborhood. You think about it a lot.” 

“W- wait? You’re telepathic? How are you telepathic?” He asked, stunned. 

“I don’t know how. I always have been. And sometimes I can do stuff…” she shrugged. 

“Like what?” He was getting interested in this. 

“Like make illusions. Not very often though, usually only if I am pretty scared. But now you have my secret so you don’t have to worry that I won’t keep yours. It’s a trade.” 

“Okay. I guess that’s fair.” He agreed as he didn’t really have any other choices. “So...what am I thinking right now?” 

“You don’t like having to trust me with your secret. And you’re worried that the Avengers will figure out Spiderman is Stark’s intern and that they’ll think you’re a dumb teenager...” her eyes got larger as she picked up on his most recent thought. “You’re wondering how I got my scars?” 

“Sorry,” Peter shrugged. “I didn’t mean to see them.” So far her mind reading was spot on. 

“I know. I didn’t mean to hit you when I had that nightmare either.” 

“I know. You were pretty scared. It didn’t hurt anyway.” 

“That’s when I realized you were Spiderman, you know? When you hugged me you were thinking that you wished Spidey had been there to stop whoever had given me the scars. You were thinking you wanted to put that guy in prison. You don’t have to worry. He is already there.” 

“Your Dad?” 

Tess nodded. “Except he said lots of times that he wasn’t my real dad. He says my mom had an affair but she denied it. I don’t really know the truth. They were both liars.” 

“Do you miss them?” 

Tess shrugged. “I miss my mom sometimes. She lied to me sometimes about stupid stuff but she was nice and she never hit me or anything. Dad...I am glad he’s in prison. I hate him.” 

***

Some evenings Peter spent with Aunt May and Tess and others he worked on projects in Stark’s lab. Peter continued to patrol as Spiderman too. 

On rare occasions Tony allowed Peter to assist the Avengers. It was always something harmless and safe such as acting as a lookout on a mission or assisting with radio communications. Spiderman did not fight alongside the Avengers. Not yet. 

Late one night while May was working Peter heard a familiar sounding scream from Tess room. He stumbled out of bed and headed for her room expecting to find her having a nightmare. He realized two steps from the door that someone else was in the apartment. He wrenched open the bedroom door just in time to see the Chitauri alien figure drag Tess out the window and jump onto one of their small flying ships like they had used the day they invaded New York. 

Peter threw his suit on and made a dive out the window after her without a second thought. Why was a Chitauri capturing Tess? He swung from building to building, shooting out webs to catch up and eventually got close enough to shoot one at the flying craft. Peter swung himself aboard. There were three aliens aboard. Tess was tied up. Peter made a dive at the nearest alien, making a quip fighting someone so ugly. 

“Whoa, you guys are pretty strong,” Peter said when the alien threw him down. He got right back up and made another attempt. A second Chitauri came at him and Pete threw himself overboard then swung beneath the ship and back onboard to kick one of the aliens with the force of his momentum. It knocked the Chitauri off balance but hardly harmed him at all. 

“Okay so you guys are strong and well balanced,” he said, having learned something from the attempt. 

As far as Peter could see, there was no way he was gonna beat threw Chitauri on a moving ship all by himself. He couldn’t just leave Tess either. He should probably call Mr Stark except- A figure in black and green stood on top of a building ahead. The man dove at the Chitauri ship as they passed, landing right on top of an alien. The unknown man was fighting the alien he had tackled and the other Chitauri came at Peter, leaving only the pilot to deal with. 

“Who are you?” Peter asked as he dodged a spear. 

“I’m surprised you don’t recognize me,” the man said glancing over at Peter. 

Then Peter did recognize him. “Loki?” 

Loki threw the Chitauri overboard. Peter dodged another blow while Loki hit the alien from behind. He snapped it’s neck, killing the alien quickly. The pilot was dispatched just as quickly by Loki and the Asgardian took over the ship and landed it on top of a building. 

Peter set to work untying Tess while the vessel was landing. “I appreciate the help Mr Loki but I don’t understand.” He wasn’t even sure that Loki would let them go once they were stopped. “I thought you and the Chitauri were on the same side?” 

“Hell no,” Loki parked the ship and turned to help Peter with the knots in the Chitauri rope on Tess. “The Chitauri are dull creatures not worthy of my time.” 

That still didn’t make a lot of sense but he didn’t question it. “Then why are you here?” 

“I’m here because Tess…” Loki began and glanced at her. 

“He’s...he is my father,” Tess said, realizing it in that moment as a result of her telepathy. 

Loki nodded. “Yes. And those Chitauri intended to take you to Thanos who would have used you to make me get something for him from Asgard’s vault. I couldn’t let that happen. I cast a spell on you years ago so I would know if you had been hurt.” 

Tess processed his words for a brief moment before regarding him in anger. “No you didn’t. Or else why didn’t you stop him?” 

She was talking about her stepfather, Peter knew that. He wasn’t sure how Loki would take her anger though. 

“I didn’t know you were born until you were six. I cast the spell when I invaded New York. After that I was in prison. I’m sorry. I was aware that he hurt you…” Loki trailed off, getting emotional. “I could do nothing because I was in a cell. After that I needed Thanos to believe I was dead or else neither of us were safe. I can change that now. I could kill him now.” 

“Mr Loki I don’t think that-“ Peter began but Tess cut him off. 

“Shut up Peter,” she said as she got to her feet and approached Loki. She reached out and put one hand on his shoulder. “You really mean all that don’t you? You would kill him if I asked you to?” 

Loki sighed, there was emotion on his face. 

“Tess…” Peter spoke again. 

“Don’t worry Peter. No one’s gonna die. That’s not the point. The point is, those aliens were kidnapping me to be tortured and he came for me…” 

“Of course I did,” Loki said as Tess threw herself into his hug. 

Peter didn’t say anything to interfere with that. He couldn’t really blame Tess for wanting to hug her father, even though he was Loki. Besides, it kinda sounded like Loki’s invasion might have been done under duress. Peter turned and walked away to sit on the edge of the building, giving them a moment alone. 

Half an hour later Tess joined him at the edge of the building and to his surprise Loki sat down on the other side of him. 

“I want to thank you Parker. You dove out a window and fought three Chitauri to try to save my daughter. All the commotion gave me more time to find her. You may well have saved her life. You are very brave for one so young. CanI owe you a life debt. Should you ever need help,” Loki handed Peter a coin with a picture of the world tree on it.”This coin will summon me. I have given one to Tess as well.” 

“Does this mean you’re not staying Mr Loki?” 

“I can’t. It’s too dangerous to remain in the open for long. I will return to my disguise but I will try to see Tess again in a month if she wishes.” 

Tess nodded. “Yes. I would like that.” 

***

Peter was bringing Tess to the Avengers complex for the first time. Aunt May had set the whole thing up because she had to work a double shift while Peter was gonna be in the lab for the weekend. She had somehow convinced Mr Stark to let Tess come along this one time. Peter was actually really surprised that Mr Stark had agreed to it but decided not to question it too much. He didn’t want to miss his time in the lab or leave Tess home alone either. 

Peter’s access card allowed them into the complex and they took the elevator up to the floor with the lab. As he was swiping his card at the lab door Peter heard footsteps. He turned to see Clint approaching. 

“Hey…” Peter waved because he wanted to be polite and casual at the same time. 

“Hey, you’re Stark’s intern, Peter right?” Hawkeye said, following them into the room. 

“Yeah,” Peter was glad that Clint had remembered him. “I am. And this is Tess. She had to tag along with me today and Mr Stark said it was okay.” 

Tony Stark was already there so Peter went to his usual table and Tess sat in an office chair in the corner behind him. Tony and Clint chatted about an arrow upgrade for a bit and Peter set to work on a project while Tess took out a book to read. 

“It’s too heavy,” Clint was saying. 

“Too heavy? Well if the arrows are too heavy to carry maybe you should consider working out and contribute a little more to the team,” Tony quipped. 

“In the air. Too heavy in the air,” Clint said, annoyed. “Makes the shooting distance shorter and increases the chance that an enhanced target can catch the shot. Like that time Loki did.” 

“You’re not seriously blaming that on me?” Stark said with mock offense. 

“No, that one is on the evil god.” Clint said. 

Peter glanced over at Tess to see that she had dropped her book in her lap and was listening intently. Peter felt something tingle against his skin, it was like static energy that he had never felt before. 

“Yeah, I can’t say that I regret him being gone,” Tony continued. “I know it’s hard on Thor but I still have nightmares.” 

Clint nodded. “It’s best for everyone that he’s dead.” 

The static energy burst from Tess in that instant and exploded in a radius around her. It knocked Peter down and he heard glass breaking as he hit the floor. 

The blast didn’t hurt Peter much. It had been powerful but he was stronger than most. He was back on his feet in an instant. Mr Stark and Mr Barton were on the floor too but were in the middle of getting back up seemingly not harmed too much. The glass door and glass walls were all shattered. 

“What the hell Parker?” Tony said, “What did you do?” 

“Mr Stark I didn’t…” Peter began, knowing that the blast had definitely come from Tess. Then he glanced at the girl and saw that her face was covered in tears and her fists were clenched. She was angry and afraid all at once. He was pretty sure that what had happened had been beyond her control. If he told them she had powers they would want to know how she got them. If he told them she was Loki’s daughter they might not like that. It’s not like they would hurt her but they wouldn’t like it and they might not keep it secret. He had to protect her. “I did, I totally did that. Sorry Mr Stark. The soundwaves on this device got way out of control. I messed up. I will clean all this up. I promise.” 

“Don’t worry about it kid,” Stark said, deflated at seeing Peter apologetic. “I’ve caused a few explosions in this lab myself. Either of you hurt?” 

“No. No, we’re good,” Peter confirmed. 

Tess helped Peter with cleaning up the glass. She waited until Tony left to order pizza before talking to him. 

“I’m really sorry about that,” Tess said. “I didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t even know I could.” 

“I kinda figured,” Peter said. He wasn’t mad at her in the least. 

“It’s just...I know that Loki, my real Dad invaded New York and he’s supposed to be one of the bad guys but...my stepdad was one of the bad guys too… and Loki came and rescued me when those aliens tried to take me...and I read his mind and I know that he actually does want me to be safe… and he would never hurt me like my stepdad did, he would kill him if he got the chance...and they were saying all that stuff about being glad he was dead and it really hurt and the blast just kinda happened...I’m so confused…” Tess brushed away her tears. 

“Tess, I don’t think it matters all that much what the Avengers think of Loki. I mean Thor probably still cares about him. You visited your mom in jail a couple weeks back. She isn’t one of the good guys either but that doesn’t make it bad to still care about her, does it?” 

“I guess not,” she said, brushing away more tears. 

“I’m just saying, family is family, even if they are messed up.” 

“Thanks Peter.” 

***

The next evening Spiderman was on patrol and stopped to rest on a rooftop and eat a hot dog. He sensed the nearby presence before he saw it. Before he could react, Loki was seated at his side on the rooftop. 

“What are you…?” Peter began but then stopped when Loki raised his hands in surrender. 

“I’m not here to cause trouble. I need to see Tess. I need you to bring her here to this rooftop tomorrow.” 

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea Mr Loki. The Avengers would be really mad if they knew I was meeting with you. I mean they don’t even know you’re alive.” 

“Then take care they don’t find out,” he said firmly, maybe threateningly. 

“Well, I mean, it’s not like I was gonna tell anyone,” Peter stammered. “I just meant that I would get in a lot of trouble if they figured it out somehow...on their own...without me telling them.” 

“There’s another scenario that could cause a lot of trouble for you too. If Tess doesn’t learn to control her magic that could be a problem for you too, couldn’t it?” 

“Yeah, it could,” Peter mumbled. 

“Yesterday she had a moment of distress. I felt it. What happened?” 

“We were in Mr Stark’s lab. He and Hawkeye were talking about this one time when you caught his arrow and they were kinda saying they were glad to not have to deal with you anymore. The whole thing really upset Tess and I guess her magic went haywire. At least I think that’s what happened.” 

Loki looked a bit sentimental at what Peter had said. “Her distress was over me?” 

“Yeah. She has hardly stopped talking about you since that day you rescued her. I think she misses you,” Peter said sadly, thinking for a brief moment about how he would never see his own parents again. 

“And you sympathize with her?” Loki asked, a little confused. 

“Yeah well, my parents are dead. I think maybe having living parents who can’t see you might be worse.” 

“That’s why I need you to bring her here tomorrow. I can’t visit your home. Your Aunt would report me to Stark. Tess needs a chance to see her father and to learn to control her magic. Only I can teach her that.” 

“If I bring her, I’m staying.” Peter said, he wouldn’t just leave her alone with Loki, god of mischief. 

Loki smiled. “I expected you would and I wouldn’t say no to your company. As I said before, you are brave and I am grateful for your protection of my daughter. Besides, your words are often amusing and you are more intelligent than most. You are easily the most likeable midgardian I have ever met.” 

It took Peter a moment to overcome his shock at this compliment from the god of mischief. “Do you want a hot dog Mr Loki?” Peter had three of them and had only eaten one. 

Bemused at the offer, Loki accepted and took the hot dog. 

***

One lesson on the rooftop soon turned into lessons three times a week. Tess enjoyed this time with her father and was gaining more control over her magic by the day. 

Peter learned in the following month that Loki truly had invaded earth under duress. He had been tortured and threats against Tess had been made. He had cast a spell to protect her on the day of his invasion and had been unable to even come see her until recently. Loki told Tess stories of Asgard as they practiced and he sat and ate sandwiches and did homework during that time. 

From the rooftop one afternoon, Peter could hear a robbery taking place. He got to his feet and stood on the edge of the roof, torn between going to help and staying with Tess. Loki saw his hesitation. 

“Go, we will be fine.” 

Spiderman pulled on his mask, shot out a web and swung away. The robbery wasn’t as simple as it seemed. There were five gunmen and soon shots were fired. Peter threw himself into the fire to protect civilians but the gun blasted him against a building. It was no ordinary gun. A second shot hit him a Peter felt himself blacking out. Just before it all went dark he saw a flash of black and green leather. 

Peter awoke on the rooftop with Tess and Loki looking over him. 

“What happened?” He gasped attempting to sit up but only succeeding in a cry of pain. 

“You’re okay!” Tess threw her arms around him. 

Loki nodded with relief in his features. “It seems you needed assistance. I provided it. Your criminals were taken away by the police. I left them ties up before I carried you away.” 

“Mr Loki you didn’t have to do that.” Peter said. 

“Yes I did,” Loki said..

“So does this mean we’re even now. The whole life debt thing is canceled?” Peter was curious to know how it worked. 

“No. I mean, I suppose it does but if you needed my help, I would still give it. For Tess’s sake and for yours.” 

“Oh. Thanks,” Peter said, more than a little surprised. 

“And speaking of assistance. I saw your fight. You do very well with dodging blows and bullets. Your reflexes are impressive but you did hardly anything to engage your enemy. I could teach you to fight.” 

Peter’s eyes widened. “Mr Stark would be furious.” 

Loki smiled. “I suppose he would. However, I think knowledge is important and it matters only that you have it, not where it came from.” 

“That’s a really good point,” Peter condeded. He did have to learn how to fight somehow. 

“So you accept?” 

“Um. Yeah. I guess I do.” 

***

Peter was overcome with guilt. He was working in Mr Stark’s lab and couldn’t really focus on the project at all. All he could think about was the fact that he had taken four fighting lessons with Mr Loki and not only was he keeping it secret from Mr Stark, he had actually started to like Mr Loki. It didn’t make sense how this guy who patiently taught him the Asgardian style of fighting, who saved him and Tess without being asked, who Tess absolutely adored, how could this guy be the same guy who invaded New York? 

Mr Stark wouldn’t like it if he knew that he had been spending so much time with Loki. Mr Stark wouldn’t even like it if he knew that Loki was alive and Peter had been keeping it secret. He had only kept the secret for Tess at first. He hadn’t wanted any aliens to come after her in an attempt to control Loki. But after a while he had become invested in the secret too. He worried at times that he had been brainwashed somehow or if maybe he was one of the bad guys now too. 

Then to compound his guilt, Tony offered him an upgrade in his suit which Peter was currently helping him install. 

“Once we get this installed, the Avengers have a mission in Canada. We were thinking you could join us for this one, or Spiderman could anyway. What do you think?” 

“That would be awesome Mr Stark!” Peter said despite his guilt. 

Peter’s cell phone on the desk started ringing and a picture of Aunt May popped up. 

“You better get that,” Mr Stark said. 

Peter picked up the phone. “Peter, what time did you drop Tess off with Mrs Klien?” May asked, referring to their downstairs neighbor who sometimes looked after Tess after school. 

“At three. Why?” Peter could hear the panic in his Aunt’s voice. 

“Because Mrs Klien says she heard someone knock on the door but she was in the bathroom and by the time she came out the door was wide open and no one was there. Tess is missing. She has been missing for almost four hours. I’ve called the police and they are looking and I have been looking…” May was crying over the phone. 

“Shit…” Peter mumbled. 

Aunt May was so distressed that she ignored his language. “Where could she be Peter? You spend the most time with her. Where does she like to go?” 

Peter felt sick. He had to find Tess. If the Chitauri had her then the consequences of that would be terrible. “I’ll start looking. Don’t worry Aunt May. I’ll find her.” 

“I gotta go Mr Stark,” Peter said, grabbing up his stuff. “Tess is missing. I gotta find her.” 

“Hold up underoos,” Stark said, “The avengers aren’t headed out until morning. Some of us could help. I’m available anyway.” 

Soon several of the Avengers had joined the search. Some were looking over street cams and security footage and others had gone to Queens to assist in the search. 

Sunrise neared and no one had seen any sign of her. “Incoming call from Mr Stark,” Karen said. 

“Hey kid. I have news. It isn’t good. Security footage near your apartment building found a Chitauri ship. Tess was taken by Chitauri. You know anything about that?” 

“Oh shit,” Peter said, unable to form any other words. 

“I’m on my way to you kid. We’re headed back to the compound to trace their energy signature. We will find them.” 

Tony landed near Peter moments later. “This is bad Mr Stark. This is really really bad and it’s probably all my fault and I should have told you before and now it’s too late and everything is gonna be all messed up and-“ 

“Hey, take it easy,” Tony put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “We are gonna find her. If they leave earth, SHIELD has ships that can follow. Hell I could come up with a ship that can follow.” 

“You don’t understand Mr Stark,” Peter Said, feeling sick with anxiety. “This isn’t just about Tess. It’s about everyone.” 

“What does that mean?” Stark asked. “If you’re speaking metaphorically this really isn’t the time.” 

“No, I’m not. Tess is Loki’s daughter!” He spat the words out, feeling immediate relief on telling the truth. 

“What? What did you say?” 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. Tess is Loki’s daughter. If we don’t find her, things are gonna get really bad.” Peter tried to explain. 

“Really bad how?” 

“The thing is,” Peter braced himself for Mr Stark’s anger. “Loki is alive.” 

Tony only stared at him but his eye twitched a few times. 

Peter took a step back. “I’m sorry Mr Stark. I didn’t know what to do. I tried to save Tess from the Chitauri a while back and Mr Loki saved me. He saved me because I helped her and he’ll do pretty much anything to protect her, even invade New York. And if the Chitauri have her then they have the power to make him do stuff again and if we don’t get her back, he’ll probably be pretty mad at me. I have a way to contact him but I don’t really know how it works.” Peter held out the coin that Loki had given him: 

Tony sighed, “Put that away. We are not calling him.” 

“But Mr Stark, if we don’t then-“ 

“You do not get to have an opinion right now! You lied to me about a guy who invaded our planet being not dead. What made you think it was okay to keep that to yourself?” 

“I didnt exactly lie,” Peter mumbled. 

“You hid the truth. You wanna tell me why you did that before I take the suit?” 

“I was worried about Tess. I was worried what would happen to her if Loki went back to prison. I mean he showed up out of nowhere and killed three Chitauri with his bare hands to protect her. And ever since he did that her nightmares have stopped because she feels safe for the first time in her life. If Loki went back to prison it would destroy her and I know it wasn’t okay to keep it all to myself but I couldn’t do that to Tess. I couldn’t. I’m sorry.” He held up the coin. “We have to find him.” 

“That really wasn’t your choice to make, kid.” Stark took the coin from Peter all the same. He looked it over and made a face. “Alright, team meeting. My location.” He said over coms. 

Within minutes the rest of the Avengers had arrived at the rooftop where they were. 

“I’m sorry kid,” Stark began when they had all gathered. “I’m gonna have to reveal your identity to the Avengers. There’s too much at stake not to. They’ll keep it secret though, won’t you?” 

The avengers nodded and affirmed that they would. 

“So you all know this is Spiderman but you don’t know that Spiderman is also my intern Peter Parker.” Tony told them. 

“That guy was just a kid,” Steve spoke up. 

Peter pulled his mask off just to have it over with. He couldn’t look at them. They were already gonna laugh when they saw that Spiderman was just some kid. It was only gonna get worse once they learned how badly he had messed up. 

“Oh.” Steve said. 

“Okay, here’s the real problem. Loki is alive and he has a daughter. His daughter is the girl we are looking for and also Parker’s family.” Tony explained. “Peter has a way to contact Loki because apparently the god of mischief will do just about anything to protect his daughter. If we don’t inform him that she has been taken there’s no telling how he’ll react. If the Chitauri keep her for too long, they may be able to use her to control him. Pete seems to believe that they already did that once before.” 

The Avengers didn’t react at first. It was Nat who spoke first. “We need to contact him. If Loki is alive and believes that we allowed his daughter to be hurt it’s not gonna be good for any of us.” 

Stark held up the coin. “This is supposed to be the means of contact. Anyone have any idea how the kid should use it?” 

“Bite it,” Clint spoke up. “It’s an old fashioned thing. Just give it a try.” 

Peter took the coin and bit down on it. Moments later a haze of blue light appeared at the far end of the rooftop. Loki stepped out of it. 

“Parker, if you have called for me to trap me this isn’t going to end well,” Loki said on seeing the a avengers gathered there with the exception of Thor. 

“I didn’t Mr Loki. I sent for you to help us find Tess. They have her, the Chitauri,” Peter explained. 

“Why didn’t she contact me herself?” 

“Maybe she didn’t know how to use the coin or maybe…” Peter trailed off, not wanting to think of other possibilities. 

“Where is she?” Loki demanded, approaching the group. 

The Avengers were on edge. They had last seen him as an enemy but they did not draw weapons. 

“There’s a warehouse a few blocks from here where the ship that took her was last seen,” Nat explained. “We’re gonna go there now and bring her back to you.” 

“I don’t think so,” Loki said. “I am going with or without you, I will be there.” 

“That’s not how it works reindeer games,” Stark said. “You don’t get to call the shots here. You’re still the guy who tried to invade this planet. We only contacted you as a formality. If we fail to come back in two hours then that probably means we’re dead and you can go ahead and try your own rescue mission. Otherwise, you wait here.” 

“I can be of use. I can help ensure your mission does not fail,” Loki said, both insulted and concerned at once. 

“The longer you argue the more time we waste,” Tony pointed out. 

“Fine. Go,” Loki agreed. 

Peter pulled his mask back on to follow them. 

“Maybe you better stay behind too, kid.” Stark said. 

“Please let me help Mr Stark? I need to fix this.” 

“Fine, but you hang back unless we call you in,” Stark said. 

***

Peter didn’t hang back like he was told. The warehouse was overrun with aliens and Spiderman threw himself into the fray. Vision got Tess right away. She was unconscious but he grabbed her and flew her out of the warehouse to safety. The fight continued though because the aliens needed to be captured or killed. Somehow Peter got cornered by five aliens. He shot a web to swing over them and one caught his foot and threw him down to the floor. He felt a blade stab into his shoulder and screamed with pain. Then another blade into his ribs and a third in his thigh, all three spears pinned him to the floor. The Avengers were busy and couldn’t help him. 

Another spear was raised and Peter was making every effort to pull the blade from his shoulder but the pain proved too much. Then he saw the flash of green and black. Loki fought off the five Chitauri with ease, not hesitating to kill each one. He ignored the rest of the fight and set to work on Peter’s injuries. 

“This is going to hurt,” Loki said, taking hold of the shaft of the spear. 

Peter screamed a cry of pain as each of the spears came out. Loke tossed each one into the battle and into an alien. Then he knelt down to check Peter’s injuries. 

“I’ll be okay,” Peter told him. “I have enhanced healing.” 

“Yes and the Chitauri have enhanced toxins,” he put his hands over Peter’s wounds and he could feel the healing magic begin to take hold. 

Loki was still healing Peter when the battle ended. The Avengers approached him looking victorious. Vision flew in and let Tess down to the floor. She was awake and ran past the Avengers to get to him. Loki hugged her with relief. 

“Why did you come back here reindeer games?” Tony asked, arms crossed. “Vision got your kid out. That should have been your clue to disappear.” 

“I watched from a distance. Peter was cornered. He needed help.” 

“Thanks Mr Loki,” Peter said. 

“And why exactly did you decide to help him,” Nat asked. “You like spiders better than ants?” She referenced his accusation years earlier that humans were ants next to the gods. 

“As a matter of fact I do,” Loki said. “Out of all midgardians, I like this one best.” 

The Avengers looked at each with confusion. Peter just shrugged as if to say he didn’t understand it either. 

“I don’t suppose you’re going to let me go?” Loki asked. Tess was still hugging him, clinging to him really. 

“You thought that and you still came for Peter?” Stark asked. 

“Would you not do the same for this boy?” Loki asked. 

Stark looked uncomfortable with the implication that Loki was anything like him but he nodded. “Yeah, I would.” 

“Well then,” Loki got to his feet taking Tess with him. “Allow me to say goodbye to my daughter and I will comply.” 

“Nooo!” Tess screamed and hugged him tighter. “You can’t go! You can’t!” 

Tony glared at Loki. “I take it you were counting on this? That we would let our empathy for your daughter interfere with justice?” 

“Justice?” Loki almost started laughing. “What makes you think there is any such thing? Where was justice when I was tortured for six months to agree to an invasion I never wanted? Where was justice when I was given a scepter that fueled my rage and addled my mind? Where was justice when my daughter was abused and beaten by a stepfather who did not want her and I was powerless to stop him? But if you think you can accomplish justice, go ahead and try!” 

Clint Barton took one step forward. “That stone messed with your mind too?” 

“It did,” Loki said. 

“He’s probably lying,” Stark spoke up. 

“He’s not!” Tess sobbed. “I’m telepathic and I see all his thoughts. He’s not lying!” 

“She’s telepathic?” Tony asked Peter who only nodded in response. 

“I saw everything!” Tess sobbed, her arms still around his neck and her feet not quite touching the floor but Loki held her to keep her from falling. “I saw how they hurt him. Every day they came to hurt him. He was locked in a cell and-“ 

“Tess, you don’t have to do this,” Loki told her gently. “If you dig deeper you won’t like what you see.” 

“I already saw it! I saw the poison darts that kept you from healing so they could hurt you over and over again. I saw the whips and the knives and...the fire…” her voice broke. 

“How do we know you’re not using magic to make her see all that?” Tony asked, less antagonistic, but still skeptical. 

“I don’t think he is,” Nate said. “There were signs back when I interrogated him that it wasn’t fully his idea, that maybe he was under duress, but I ignored them. Maybe I was wrong.” 

“There is no magic,” Wanda spoke up. “I can see it when there is.” 

“So you think we’re supposed to just let him go?” Tony asked. 

“You let me go,” Clint reminded them. 

“Let me take Tess with me and I will never return to your planet again,” Loki said. “Please?” 

Clint nodded. “Well, I vote yes.” 

“I vote yes as well,” Vision said. 

“I don’t know if I get a vote,” Peter said, “But if I do, I vote yes too. I mean, I’ll miss her but she needs to be with her Dad.” 

Soon everyone except for Tony had voted yes. He let out a sigh, unable to believe any of this. “Aunt May is not gonna just want her niece to disappear.” 

“Then I will obtain her permission. At least let me try?” Loki said. 

“Fine,” Tony huffed. “Probably won’t hurt that you saved Peter’s life. She’ll probably vote yes too.” 

Loki let Tess down to the ground and she finally let go of the hug. She turned to face the Avengers. Her face was covered in tears but she was smiling. “Thank you,” she went and threw her arms around Tony. 

He quickly recovered from his shock and hugged her in return. “It’s nothing.” 

***. 

Aunt May took a long while to convince to let Tess go but in the end she did agree to it. As they were preparing to leave by way of teleportation, Loki tossed a coin in Peter’s direction. 

“In case you ever need it,” Loki said. 

“But you promised you would never return to earth.” Peter protested, looking over the Asgardian coin. 

Loki grinned. “Some promises are just asking to be broken.”


End file.
